Heart Theatre brings The Walking Tenor to Whitefish for free concert

Heart Theatre will present tenor Jesús Daniel Hernández in a free Sept. 26 concert at North Valley Music School in Whitefish, Montana, with local pianist Mitchell Zeidwig and special guest Mike Eldred. The event ties music, community access and National Public Lands Day together at a time when the company is leaning on local support to keep performances free.

Why it matters: - Heart Theatre is using a free community concert to make opera and vocal music accessible to Whitefish residents regardless of ticket price. - The Sept. 26 event also connects to National Public Lands Day, linking the performance to Heart Theatre's conservation-minded partnership with Corazón Latino. - The concert brings a nationally recognized tenor and local musicians together in a nontraditional venue, which fits Heart Theatre's community-first model.

What happened: - Heart Theatre, in partnership with Corazón Latino, is bringing Jesús Daniel Hernández, known as The Walking Tenor, to North Valley Music School in Whitefish, Montana. - The concert is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. - Admission is free. - Hernández will perform opera, Neapolitan music, boleros and a few surprises. - Mitchell Zeidwig, who performs professionally as ZeidwiG and lives in Whitefish, will accompany Hernández on piano. - Whitefish tenor Mike Eldred will join Hernández for John Denver's “Perhaps Love.”

The details: - Hernández was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and came to the United States as a teenager. - Hernández later joined the U.S. Army and served in Iraq. - After attending a Plácido Domingo concert in San Antonio in 2007, Hernández found a way to sing for Domingo. - Domingo listened and invited Hernández into the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. - Hernández later performed leading operatic roles in the United States and Europe. - As The Walking Tenor, Hernández also sings outside the opera house for people wherever he finds them. - Zeidwig is Juilliard-trained and has performed at Carnegie Hall and with orchestras around the world. - Eldred has performed professionally for more than four decades. - Eldred's Broadway credits include Les Misérables, where he played Jean Valjean, and the original Broadway cast of The Civil War. - Stacy Whittle is the artistic director of Heart Theatre. - Felipe Benítez, co-founder of Heart Theatre and executive director of Corazón Latino, is producing the concert. - The concert will take place at North Valley Music School, 1998 River Lakes Parkway, Whitefish, Montana 59937.

Between the lines: - Heart Theatre is framing the concert as part of a broader mission to take professional theatre and music into communities and spaces outside a traditional venue. - The company says its model depends on donors and local partners to keep free events available. - The Whitefish event also highlights the role of community support in underwriting accessible arts programming. - Whittle said the goal is to let the community experience the joy of Hernández's voice firsthand.

What's next: - Heart Theatre is continuing to develop work inspired by Mario Lanza. - The company has also recently staged scenes from Terrence McNally's Master Class, with Whittle performing as Maria Callas in the United States and Spain. - More information about Heart Theatre is available at HeartTheatre.net.

The bottom line: - The Whitefish concert is both an arts event and a test of Heart Theatre's road-show model: bring high-level performance to a local audience for free and let community support make it possible.